decorated in underglaze cobalt blue, light blue and turquoise with scrolling cloudbands around a central medalion containing entwining split palmettes and floral stems, with a geometric border - 62.5 by 40cm.

Note: Although blue and white tilework is recorded in Turkey as early as the 1430s (mosque of Murad II in Edirne, circa 1435), it was not until the sixteenth century that the kilns at Iznik started to produce blue and white tiles for public buildings. 

The present tile belongs to a rare group characterised by the addition of turquoise to its palette. The decoration combines patterns derived from Chinese porcelain with more Persianate motifs, resulting in a design of stylised foliate and floral forms merged with chinoiserie cloud bands.

Sotheby's. Arts of the Islamic World, Londres, 20 avr. 2016, 10:30 AM